With online doctor quiz, edugaming dons lab coat

Could an online quiz be the future of continuing medical education? In a twist on the “edu-gaming” phenomenon, Cleveland Clinic and physician site MDLinx aim to answer that question with The Smartest Doc, a daily one-minute quiz that aims to keep doctors up to date on the medical literature by appealing to their competitive spirit.

Cleveland Clinic furnishes content for the multispecialty quiz, which consists of five or fewer questions and is scored based on speed and accuracy. Participants can view leader boards showing where they've placed regionally and nationally.

“Some physicians have chosen to make teams,” said MDLinx's Stephen Smith. “Some use it as a more local competition. If you're an oncologist in Omaha, you can play the quiz, then when you talk to each other you have bragging rights.”

Physicians can see the correct answer to any question they get wrong and a couple clicks takes them to a full CME course on the topic from Cleveland Clinic.

Tailored to internists, family physicians, oncologists, pediatricians, diabetes experts and neurologists, the quiz is ad supported, and MDLinx will entertain sponsorships by pharmas, whether of the online quiz by specialty or for exhibit booths at national meetings of medical societies, where the quiz could serve as a lure, drawing physician foot traffic.

Other ventures, including QuantiaMD and some medical journals, have run quizzes, but Smith said MDLinx's quiz is distinguished by its daily schedule and competitive element.

“It's every day, and after a month, participants will have been exposed to the most current literature and best practices,” said Smith, who is chief marketing officer of MDLinx parent M3.